Southern (NYSE:SO) Coverage Initiated at TD Cowen

Stock analysts at TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Southern (NYSE:SO) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set a “buy” rating and a $112.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s target price points to a potential upside of 14.52% from the company’s current price.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on SO. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Southern from $94.00 to $92.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Southern from $97.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Southern from $98.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays set a $70.00 price target on Southern in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI began coverage on Southern in a research report on Monday, October 6th. They set an “in-line” rating and a $103.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Southern presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.83.

Southern Price Performance

Shares of NYSE SO opened at $97.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The company has a market cap of $107.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.43. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $94.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.99. Southern has a 1-year low of $80.46 and a 1-year high of $100.83.

Southern (NYSE:SO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.99 by ($0.08). Southern had a net margin of 15.10% and a return on equity of 12.09%. The company had revenue of $6.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Southern has set its Q3 2025 guidance at 1.500-1.500 EPS. FY 2025 guidance at 4.200-4.300 EPS. Analysts forecast that Southern will post 4.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Kimberly S. Greene sold 13,158 shares of Southern stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.00, for a total transaction of $1,250,010.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 93,661 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,897,795. The trade was a 12.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.16% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SO. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Southern by 275.0% in the second quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the period. Cheviot Value Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Southern in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Advantage Trust Co raised its position in Southern by 1,428.6% in the 2nd quarter. Advantage Trust Co now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Financial Connections Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Accredited Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.10% of the company’s stock.

About Southern

The Southern Company, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity. The company also develops, constructs, acquires, owns, and manages power generation assets, including renewable energy projects and sells electricity in the wholesale market; and distributes natural gas in Illinois, Georgia, Virginia, and Tennessee, as well as provides gas marketing services, gas distribution operations, and gas pipeline investments operations.